An Unconventional Fairytale
by Sparks' Cat
Summary: Princess Rosalina, her ever faithful servant Anna, and Ava the dragon are awaiting rescue from a cursed existence. However their saviours are not exactly what Anna would call conventional. Warning- heavily hinted girlxgirl relationship
1. Chapter 1

**Hello!**

**This would be my first upload to the fairytales section, and I'm not really sure what the taste of readers here is, but I hope you'll be gentle with my story!**

**Okay, one warning, THIS STORY WILL CONTAIN FEMALEXFEMALE RELATIONSHIPS. I know most people are not bigots, but for those of you with a problem, suck it up or leave now.**

**:D Please enjoy and review, I like to know where I'm going wrong.**

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**An Unconventional Fairytale**

"Good morning sunshine!" A high melodic voice rang out through Anna's dark chambers, and echoed off the grey stone walls over and over again, making the nest of covers on the four-poster bed groan in irritation.

"Very funny," Anna replied through a voice croaky from sleep. Suddenly the heavy wine-red velvet curtains were flung apart with a swirl of dust and bright sunlight shone into the round stone room, illuminating it and causing Anna to throw off her covers to sit up and glare at the brightly smiling blonde girl who stood by her balcony, the bright morning sunshine illuminating her golden hair and giving her an angelic halo. This was something that never failed to make Anna feel even less divine than usual, as she cowered narrow-eyed in her messy bed and she tried very hard to bite back a sarcastic comment.

"Well, get up then!" The angel commanded in what was essentially a rather irritating and high-pitched voice.

"I'm semi-up," Anna told her, "Can't you give me a few minutes to adjust before I have to be fully up?"

"… You could have if you'd tacked a 'Your Highness' onto that…," The angel, whose name was actually Rosalina Doehart, and who was in fact the Princess Royal of a rather small country named Mercia strode forward and tugged Anna, who was in fact said Princess' rather reluctant maidservant out of her bed. Anna spent a moment or two regaining her balance before pulling her hands free and stretching her hands up to the ceiling. "I can't believe you. It's far too early to be up,"

"Well, I can't believe I'm doing my maidservant's job, so we're even," Rosalina informed her smugly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"You never complain about doing the cooking,"

"That's different," Rosalina replied shortly, and Anna shrugged, eyeing her undressed Princess.

"How come you can't manage to change out of your nightdress? I mean, I accept I was sent here to look after you, but you manage everything else just fine,"

"Well," Rosalina began, her big blue eyes sparkling with excitement, "I thought that should a prince come to rescue me this morning, we could have a lovely moment where he happens upon me in my nightdress and there will be a moment of sexual tension as I whirl around and stare – with this seductively surprised expression-," She pulled the face and Anna begrudgingly admitted it was definitely seductive and surprised. "And the he kneels and begs my pardon before hastily exiting the room but not before the teasing image of my uncovered body burned into his mind and torturing him every night until our wedding night,"

Anna felt she probably shouldn't be surprised by now at the detail in which Rosalina had planned each and every one of her rescues, but still felt her mouth dropping open and one eyebrow raising in incredulity. "That is both highly disturbing and impossibly unlikely," she said flatly. "And may I ask where exactly your disgruntled and equally underdressed maidservant fits into the picture?" Rosalina waved her hand impatiently.

"Of course you would have to hide in your room until the moment was over," She said, as though expecting anything else was ridiculous. Anna rolled her eyes.

"Well then my Princess, why don't you go and wait upstairs for your prince while I get dressed, then I'll come up and make you presentable for the rest of the day?" She said, rolling one shoulder and frowning as the pull made it ache more than usual. Rosalina frowned. "It's getting worse, isn't it?" She said solemnly, sitting down on the bed beside Anna. "I thought it was just my imagination, but it is,"

"Do you think it'll just get worse with time until we're rescued?" Anna asked, holding out her left forearm and absently tracing the tattoo of a dragon etched there. Rosalina shrugged but inspected her tattoo, which was identical but for the addition of a rose, to indicate she was the one who had to be kissed for the curse to break. Anna sighed. She wasn't even sure how long it had been since she had arrived at the castle. At the start of the curse she had begun etching tally marks into the stone wall; but after the eleventh day she forgot for quite a while, then gave up scratching into the wall at all. "Well, go on then," She said to Rosalina, elbowing her in the ribs, "We don't want your prince catching you halfway between undressed and dressed, cause the that's the least sexy part of the day," Rosalina grinned, momentarily forgetting the tattoo and the dull pain in her left arm, and hurried off upstairs. Of course, Rosalina had insisted that she move into the highest room of the tallest tower, and Anna move into the second highest so it was easier for her to get to her. Anna washed and dressed quite quickly and hurried up the steps to where Rosalina was stood inspecting dresses. "The pink one today, I think," She said, throwing a stunning smile at Anna, who sighed and picked up the dress and began to unbutton it while Rosalina slid behind the screen and undressed, having clearly already washed. Anna eyed the dress with distaste as she finished undoing the buttons. It was more meringue than dress, and had far too many frills, and yet Rosalina still made it look divine. Anna, on the other hand, stuck to simple dresses in simple colours that made it easier to work around the castle. Sometimes, when there was a lot to be done, or when Ava had promised her a ride, she would even wear men's leggings and a tunic, and would feel a delicious rush of forbidden pleasure in being so liberated.

…Of course, she mused as she brushed Rosalina's hair and carefully twisted and clipped it in place, the real thrill should probably come from flying on the back of a dragon, as neither were things that a normal young lady would do. For all the terrible restricting aspects of the curse, there were some freedoms she would almost have given the world for. "Well, I'm off to see Ava," Anna informed Rosalina once she had finished with her hair. "You coming?"

"No, I'll be down later, I think I'll wait up here for a little longer," There was a note of longing in Rosalina's voice and Anna's heart clenched a little with the knowledge that they would probably never be rescued. The curse would inevitable spread from the left arm through the rest of their bodies and ultimately kill both the two of them and Ava. The notion brought a sense of crushing despair that Anna forced aside violently as she descended the spiral staircase, deciding instead to complain in her head whoever thought of the idea of a princess in the highest room of the tallest tower. Finally reaching the entrance hall, now somewhat dilapidated with scattered armour lying on the stone flags. Most of the knights who had entered the building had fled the second they had laid eyes on Ava. Now, admittedly the first knight looked very young and Ava had been quite irate at being interrupted in her and Anna's favourite game – but still, to run screaming was rather an overreaction, surely?

"Ava!" Anna called out. "Where are you?" A low rumbling noise came from the ballroom, which was now missing a roof and the walls that separated it from the dining hall and the courtyard, creating a huge space for Ava to do pretty much whatever she liked- which was mostly arranging and rearranging the rubble which she would curl up on at night. Walking into the huge space, Anna saw Ava spreading her large purple wings in a stretch, her large mouth opening in a yawn to reveal several rows of brilliant white teeth. Spotting Anna at the other end of her bedroom, she blinked her big yellow eyes and trotted over quite amiably. "Good morning," Anna smiled as Ava nudged her with her head, which was around the size of the bed Anna had just left. She smiled affectionately and patted her nose. "How are you this morning? Your leg any better?"

Ava held up her front leg, which was where a large silver cuff bit into it, causing quite a bit of pain. Clearly it had been designed to cause pain and irritation to the dragon and therefore make it quite volatile when faced with intruders. However, whoever it was who designed this cuff hadn't banked on two things; one, that Anna and Rosalina would be outraged by this treatment and find a way of treating the injury caused, and two, that Ava would be so sweet-tempered and only become depressed when she was in pain. At the moment the cuff didn't look too bad, there was only a little swelling around it. "Hmm… It looks okay for today, so I'll probably just bathe it tomorrow, okay?" Ava replaced her foot and nodded the affirmative.

The rest of the day passed easily, with Ava helping Anna and Rosalina do a few chores, and playing with them when it was time to rest. Rosalina always did the cooking (as Anna was completely hopeless in the kitchen) and neither of them were entirely sure where the food came from, they just knew that whatever they needed would be there. After dinner, Anna changed into some leggings and a tunic and Ava placed her head flat on the floor so that Anna could climb up her neck and settle between her shoulder blades tightly gripping one of the long spines that ran down her neck. Gripping tightly with both her hands and her knees, Anna used all her will power to keep her eyes open as Ava tumbled through the dusk air, humming her contentment while Rosalina squealed at her to stop from the ground far below.

As the night drew near the two girls gathered a little pile of firewood that Ava lit with a little hiccup of flame. As they sat around it in contemplative silence, Ava thought a desperate thought so deep in her brain that she barely acknowledged it – she thought with a terrifying certainty that she would die in this castle.

However, Fate had never been Anna's friend. From the very moment she had been given the job as Princess Rosalina's maidservant, it had, in fact, been mocking her. Because of course the one time the Princess chose to be adventurous was the same night as the full moon and of course she would drag Anna along and of course the Princess would cut herself on the one mirror in the hall of mirrors that would cause this whole mess. So, the next morning, while Anna was crushing up herbs for Ava's leg and wondering what Rosalina would make for lunch that day, she was blissfully unaware that Fate was about to prove her wrong yet again.

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**There is the first chapter!**

**And like I said, please review, especially if you think something needs fixing. Seriously. I'm tough, I can take it.**

**Thanks a lot **

**Sparks' Cat :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi again! I'm strating off with two chapters. By the way, I forgot to mention I was being lazy when I gave Anna a surname, so stole it from Van Helsing. Don't hate me.**

**Please enjoy!**

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So, the next morning, while Anna was crushing up herbs for Ava's leg and wondering what Rosalina would make for lunch that day, she was blissfully unaware that Fate was about to prove her wrong yet again.

"Ava?" She called, strolling out of the kitchen clutching a large stone bowl with the medicine in and a rag slung over her shoulder. She heard Ava cry form the entrance hall, and hurried, her left arm ached horribly from the strain of carrying the heavy bowl. She winced as she pushed the heavy wooden door open and strode out over the smooth stone to where Ava sat, holding up her cuffed leg sadly. "You look just like a big purple puppy when you do that," Anna told her, ignoring the dragon's big mournful yellow eyes. "Don't think giving me that look is going to make me give you my leftovers tonight, because I think you're getting a little too chubby around the flanks, and what big manly dragon will want to have eggs with you then?" As she was placing the bowl on the floor, Ava nudged her affectionately with her leg, sending her off balance and falling over sideways. "Ava!" Anna laughed, sitting up. "You know I'm only joking- some dragons like a bigger lady, after all…" Laughing harder, she ducked under Ava's second swipe, and scrambled to her feet to run away from the dragons next few pretend lunges. Just as she was about to tell Ava that they should take a look at her leg before the water went cold, there was a shout from the other end of the entrance hall. Anna looked sideways to see what she assumed was a whole regiment of soldiers entering the castle (Ava had long since done away with the palace doors and so Anna was able to see them from all the way across the drawbridge. Now, she had to give the knight that grabbed her away from Ava credit- admittedly it was not every day one saw a young lady play fighting with a dragon so it was perfectly admissible to misconstrue the situation. However, the second Anna started struggling and yelling at him to let her go, most chivalrous men would have done just that. "Let me go you miserable git!" She shouted, struggling hard as the soldiers, headed up by one in a rather impressive helmet with antlers, advanced warily on Ava, who was backing up, snarling and crying in fear. "Ava, calm down!" She cried desperately "Rosalina! Help!" However, Anna knew Rosalina was in the hall of mirrors, and was very unlikely to hear- Anna ended that thought as she watched Ava roar flame up to the high ceiling of the entrance hall in fright. "No! Throw down your weapons! You idiots, leave her be!"

"Please keep calm, my Princess," the knight holding her back said, "It will be over soon,"

"Princess? You moron, I'm not the bloody princess! Call off your men!"

"You're not?" The knight said through his helmet, his grip loosening slightly, and Anna chose that precise moment to elbow him in the balls and make a break for it. She sprinted towards Ava, ducking past a few knights who had noticed her escape until she broke through the front ranks where the antlered knight was about to strike a hard blow against Ava's cuffed foreleg. "No!" Anna threw herself into the knight, throwing him off balance and they both skittered across the stone floor. Anna had had the wind completely knocked out of her, and she groaned from on top of the knight as Ava reared up in horror, thinking she had been injured. Shaking herself out of her stupor, Anna leapt up and began waving her arms at Ava.

"Ava! Ava! It's fine, I'm okay! Please calm down Ava, please!" Barely hearing her, the dragon continued her panic as the knights advanced once more. Thoroughly irritated now, Anna span round angrily. "You! Put down your weapons now! Do it now!" Ava stood behind her, her head lowered till it was almost level with Anna's as she fearfully surveyed the Knights, who were hesitantly backing away. "Throw down your weapons now!" She barked angrily at the Antlered Knight, who had picked himself up off the floor and was still brandishing his sword. Anna felt a horrible sense of desperation as she watched the men in their chainmail following his lead. Ava made a fearful noise in the back of her throat.

"Do as she says, now," came a cold voice from the corner of the entrance hall. "Do it or I swear I shall have your heads,"

Anna looked over in relief as she saw Rosalina stood glaring at the knights imperiously, looking more like a Queen than ever before in her deep red dress and the Knights sheathed their swords and dropped their spears, although still eyeing Ava with a horrible suspicion. Anna threw her arms around Ava's neck in relief. "It's alright sweetheart," She told her soothingly. "It's going to be fine, so please don't be frightened anymore, okay? Rosalina and me won't let anything happen to you," She released the dragon's neck, but still rested a hand on it as she the two of them turned to watch the Princess addressing the Knights. They all turned to face her and kneel respectfully, except the one with the antlered helmet, who continued to watch the dragon curiously. _Must be the arrogant Prince Charming_, Anna thought bitterly, and glared at him.

"My Princess!" began the Knight Anna recognised as the one who had initially kidnapped her. He removed his helmet revealing a head of thick, shiny brown hair and a handsome, manly face and bowed deeply. "My name is Prince Caspian of Albain and I have come to rescue you," He knelt and kissed her hand and Rosalina's icy demeanour melted in a second.

"How kind, my Prince," She simpered as he rose again, still holding her hand, "I am so glad one as brave and handsome as yourself has come to save all of us,"

"All of us…?" The Prince glanced over to where Anna and the dragon stood, and seemed to wince inwardly. He quickly recovered himself though, and smiled winningly. Anna smirked. "Of course, my dear lady, it would have been unthinkable to leave such a delicate flower alone in such a large palace," Anna rolled her eyes as Rosalina swooned. She glanced to the right and noticed that the other Knight was still staring at Ava. Anna leaned into her protectively.

"My Princess, if I may introduce my sister, Princess Cassandra," Anna's eyes widened and she turned to scan the Knights for a woman. Her eyes locked on the one still stood up and as she pulled off the helmet, Princess Cassandra smirked at her. Anna wasn't sure whether to fume or faint but Ava was still shying away as Cassandra walked past so she settled for concerned and mumbled comforting words to Ava.

"Princess, it is an honour," Cassandra said in honey tones, her long sleek dark tumbling down her back and falling in her pretty face as she gave a shallow curtsey, which Rosalina returned, evidently very impressed by a lady warrior. Anna frowned. She didn't like Cassandra as a man, and now that she was being smug and self-satisfied as a woman, she decided she like her even less.

"May I introduce my maidservant and close friend-," Anna's head snapped up and she felt a little happier that it didn't seem as though she was about to go back to being just a servant, "Anna Valerios, and our friend Ava," Reluctantly Anna and Ava shuffled forwards together, causing many of the knights to leap out of a kneeling position and grasp the hilts of their swords. Ava whimpered and Anna glared at the men. "It's okay Ava," She said as they reached Rosalina.

"Now curtsey, like we practised," Rosalina whispered to Ava, and Anna did her best to set a good example while Ava clumsily bent her forelegs down.

"How on earth did you train it to do that?" Prince Caspian gasped, and both Anna and Rosalina glared at him.

"Firstly, good sir, Ava is a 'she' and not an 'it' and secondly, she is our friend, not some mindless animal that we have trained," Ava bristled with pride but some of the knights murmured in low tones, indicating clearly their disbelief. Prince Caspian frantically backpedalled. "Ah, I see, of course, what I mean was that…" He trailed off awkwardly, and Princess Cassandra cut in with interest.

"Does she understand speech?"

"Yes, but she it's hard for her to talk back," Anna said warily, and Rosalina came to Ava's side protectively. Cassandra stepped forward but Anna held out her hand.

"My lady, forgive me but please stay where you are. Ava is rather frightened of you,"

"My apologies," Cassandra said with a stunning smile that parted her bright red lips. She reached out and caught Anna's hand, then kissed it with them. "Then perhaps you and I can have a conversation instead,"

"I- er- what?" Anna spluttered, while Caspian rolled his eyes in the background as though this were a common occurrence. Irritated, Anna decided to play the woman at her own game, and regained her composure. "Certainly my lady," she said in husky tones she wasn't even aware she had, "It would be my pleasure," Cassandra turned a little pink and coughed, releasing her hand. Anna tried very hard to keep from punching the air in victory. She retreated back to Ava's side and noticed that Rosalina was also trying very hard to laugh. Ava nudged Anna in the ribs with her nose which caused the whole of the visiting party to flinch visibly and Anna couldn't help but laugh and scratch her nose, glad that the dragon was back to her playful self. This in turn set Rosalina off into her own little giggle, which brought a genuine-looking smile to Prince Caspian's face.

A few hours later, and it seemed to have been decided without any consultation that the Prince's party would be staying at the castle until Caspian had courted Rosalina for a while. While Anna was, quite frankly, sick of the now constant pain in her arm, she wasn't too unhappy at not being able to leave immediately. She had grown oddly fond of the castle, and she wasn't sure how her friendship with Ava could continue in the outside world. So, while Rosalina was showing Caspian around the castle and the knights were making themselves comfortable in the old dusty bedrooms dotted about the place, Anna stood over a fire in the ruined ballroom trying to reheat the solution that had miraculously not been spilled in the struggle earlier in the day. Ava lay curled around the fire waiting patiently. "So," Anna began casually, rubbing her shoulder and upper arm. "what do you think of them?" Ava snorted sparks into the cooling air and Anna sat down on her tail.

"Well, of course apart from the fact that they tried to kill you, I mean,"

Ava gave a little shrugging motion and Anna felt the vague sensation of Ava's feelings in her head.

"I agree. He doesn't seem too bad, and he's definitely braver than the other ones. I think we'll just have to go with Rosalina's judgement on this one," Anna paused, dipping a finger into the medicine over the fire. It was stone cold. She blew a lock of straight dark hair out of her face. "What about the sister-in-law to be?"

Ava gave a half-chuckle.

"Well, no, it wasn't something I'd usually do but quite frankly she started it. I may be a servant but that doesn't mean she has to make fun of me!"

Ava nodded, her yellow eyes rolling to the ceiling.

"No, I'm sure she won't hold me to it. She was making fun of me,"

There was a pause while Ava 'spoke' again.

"Attractive? What? Ava, I think all the excitement's gotten to your head,"

Ava shook her head.

"Look, I mean seriously. Things are different for humans, there are classes of people. The best I'll be able do if I ever get out of this blasted palace will be perhaps a rather desperate servant boy. And besides, in case you haven't noticed, she's a _she_,"

Ava clucked her tongue and Anna nearly choked on air.

"I never said I had anything against it and-,"

Ava's thoughts interrupted her.

"Oh god Ava, I did not need to know that! Do you think I'll ever get the image of girl-on-girl _dragons_ out of my head?" Anna hid her head in her arms and laughed almost hysterically. "Your logic is truly something, Ava," She said, sitting up and testing the medicine again. As she felt it warming slowly around her fingers, Ava growled low in her throat.

"No weapons, I promise," Princess Cassandra approached slowly, hands raised. Anna noticed that she was now wearing something not dissimilar to what she wore when she went flying with Ava, and she felt a twinge of annoyance. It was nice to feel as though she was the only lady in the world who behaved improperly. "Can I come closer?" Cassandra asked, pausing a few feet away.

"Can she?" Anna asked Ava, hoping she'd say no. Ava regarded the Princess for a few moments before inclining her head in a nod. Anna felt cheated.

"She says yes," Anna mumbled, swirling her fingers in the medicine, and deciding it was about warm enough and besides, treating Ava would give her an excuse not to talk much. She picked up the rag and tried to lift the hot stone bowl. As she pulled it up off the stand, however, pain shot through her left arm and she dropped it back over the fire and reeled, clutching her arm. "Christ!" She gasped, cradling it to her chest as both Cassandra and Ava leapt up in concern. Cassandra grabbed her to stop her from falling then after glancing at Ava's bared teeth set her gently down against the dragon's purple flank, which glittered in the slowly dying sunlight. Anna took a few calming breaths as Cassandra gently took her hand. "Did you burn it?" She asked, trying to see red marks on her palm.

"No, nothing like that," Anna said, taking her hand back. "It's just the curse. My lady," She added as an afterthought. Gods above, she was truly out of practice. She pulled up her sleeve and showed Cassandra the exposed tattoo on her arm.

"What? I don't understand. The curse is that the two of you are confined to the castle under the guardianship of a fearsome dragon-," She paused and glanced at Ava, who sniffed contemptuously, "Forgive me, a dragon- until a brave knight rescues the princess and gives her true love's first kiss,"

"That's true, my lady" Anna said, and shifted her arm uncomfortably. "But the legend misses out the part where the curse slowly and painfully eats through our bodies until we die,"

"Fucking hell," Cassandra said and Anna was briefly shocked by her language before remembering that when they'd first met she'd been fighting as a knight. "You poor, poor thing," She grabbed Anna and clutched her in a tight embrace which Anna found herself belatedly returning. It was nice, just to be held, like she had been when she was a child, before she'd known of cursed castles and great dragons and Princesses with silly fantasies. Ava made a noise that was almost a cough, and Anna pushed Cassandra back and cleared her throat as well. "Forgive me my lady but I need to attend to Ava," She went to pick up the medicine a second time, but Cassandra interrupted her and picked it up herself. Blinking, Anna picked up her rag as the Princess set the bowl down by Ava's foreleg. Gently Ava bathed the leg around the cuff, sponging away a little blood, she noticed with a wince. It was almost as though the curse was growing impatient now that the Prince was actually here. With a sigh, she was finished and she placed the rag back in the bowl. She felt Ava's thanks in her head and she sat up to kiss her scaly cheek. She sat back down, suddenly exhausted, and rested against Ava. Cassandra knelt in front of her and it struck Anna that she shouldn't really be so informal in front of a Princess, especially one she had been barking orders to earlier, so she tucked her legs underneath her and bowed her head. "Can I get you anything, my lady?" She asked, and Cassandra blinked, then laughed.

"That is just too cute, Anna Valerios," She said and ruffled Anna's hair in a rather patronising way. "I know you've not been a real servant for a while, so don't bother trying. Besides, do I seem like the kind of person to stand on propriety?"

Anna had to admit this was true, but she still felt extremely awkward. A sudden thought occurred to her. "Um, my lady?"

Cassandra looked up curiously. "What?"

"Uh, how long were you listening to Ava and my conversation?" Cassandra's face split into a feline grin.

"My sweetheart, I've been hanging around since your friend here lit the fire," She said, and Anna curiously felt as though fate was mocking her yet again.

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**Hmm, quite long. Hope you weren't bored?**

**I'm crossing my fingers that you review me. It won't kill you. I don't even care if you don't sign in.**

**Do it for the review-whore**

**Love Sparks' Cat x**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi agian**

**Disappintment at the total lack of reviews! I don't mind if you hate it lol, but you could at least tell me why? I'm here to improve my writing, so please let me know!**

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Late that night, the knights, the royalty, Anna and Ava were gathered in the hall of mirrors (as neither the ballroom nor the dining room currently had a roof), sat on the floor, and eating whatever had been found around the castle. The kitchen had been very fully stocked, as the castle had clearly noticed the presence of more visitors than usual; as well as a few of the bedrooms curiously containing some fresh fruit piled inside cupboards and wardrobes. The knights also had with them their own rations and so a strange little feast was being held. Anna absentmindedly munched on a nectarine while she watched Caspian and Rosalina laughing and flirting together. She smiled warmly and felt Ava's happiness at the scene inside her head too. Glancing in the mirrors, she noticed behind her reflection the faces of the knights. Suddenly fear stabbed into her chest. She remembered the faces of soldiers and knights from her old life; when they would march through her village they would leer with hungry eyes at the women. She saw exactly the same expression on their faces now. How long had they marched to get here? How long had they been on the road, the only woman in their company one they could not touch on pain of death? She shuddered, and wished she could sleep with Ava tonight.

Anna tried to take her mind off things by watching Rosalina smile, but suddenly she couldn't stop feeling their eyes on her skin. She shifted closer to Ava, and glanced around the room again, this time noticing that Princess Cassandra was now also staring at her with a strange kind of concern on her face. _Probably thinking about the curse_, she thought distractedly.

The makeshift feast was coming to a close, and Anna felt a sick sense of worry in her stomach. "Well, my Princess, I shall escort you to your chambers," Prince Caspian said, rising and offering Rosalina his hand. Anna followed them a little distance away, noticing the gaze of the knights following her as she left the hall.

"He's just _wonderful_…" Rosalina gushed. "He's so sweet and shy and sensitive, but he's so strong… From the look of his arms he'd be able to pick me up with his little finger!"

"Well, he managed to keep me still well enough," Anna mused out loud.

"Huh?" Rosalina looked confused and Anna remembered she hadn't been filled in on what happened. Skimming through the story quickly, Rosalina nodded in comprehension then laughed. "I can't believe he though _you_ were me! I mean seriously!"

"Well thanks! Didn't realise it was that obvious that I'm a pleb," Rosalina looked immediately horrified.

"Oh no, I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry Anna,"

"It's fine," Anna tried to laugh, "I know perfectly well I'm nothing to your beauty. And besides," she cut in before Rosalina had the chance to say more, "I'm not sure he knows what a real princess looks like, what with his sister dressing more like a prince," Rosalina laughed, and Anna was glad that she had brightened again. Once she had left though, Anna found herself listening with rapt paranoia to any sounds that might be footsteps on the spiral staircase. She shivered, and undressed quickly, slipping on her nightdress and brushing out her hair, trying to calm her nerves. Suddenly she could hear boots on the staircase. She froze, brush in hand, and glanced around the room for anything that might be used as a weapon. Perhaps if she took the lit candle off the wall (another of the castle's traits was that it lit them by itself, making Anna and Rosalina's lives much easier) she could burn an intruder with it? She resolved to try and gave one a tug, but apparently the castle was adamant that it kept hold of its candles. She panicked, still clutching the brush and wondering if it was heavy enough to do any damage. It was silver after all and-

Suddenly the footsteps had stopped and there was a knock at her door. "W-who is it?" Anna called, cursing her shaking voice.

"It's Cassandra," Anna shuddered out a sigh of relief and set the brush on the table before unbolting the door.

"What can I do for you, my lady?" Cassandra brandished a bundle of blankets.

"I'm sleeping in here tonight," Anna frowned, confused.

"My lady, I don't mean to be rude but there are many other rooms in the castle, you may simply choose one," Clarissa waved Anna's protest aside and sauntered in, setting down her sword on Anna's dressing table and dropping the blankets on the floor.

"That's true but I think you're missing the point. There are a lot of lonely men downstairs, and if you hadn't thought of that-," She stopped, seeing the expression on Anna's face. "Ah, well, that explains how terrified you sounded a moment ago," Cassandra smiled and Anna bristled with indignation. "I was _apprehensive_, and with good reason-," Cassandra cut her off by grabbing her chin.

"Don't worry, I won't let anyone touch what belongs to me," She said, in the same sultry voice that had made Anna splutter in the entrance hall like a fool. She raised an eyebrow, determined to win at this bizarre game, and leaned closer to Cassandra, licking her lips.

"My lady," she said, impressed at how breathy her voice came out, "surely you cannot call something yours until you have," she paused for effect, "_claimed _it?"

"True," Cassandra practically growled, then suddenly Anna was thrown from her feet and was on her back on the bed, the foreign princess on top of her and pinning her down. Anna was struck by her strength and the thought that perhaps Cassandra had not been playing a game with her as her face loomed closer.

"So, sweetheart," she said in a low voice, pressing her lips to Anna's neck. "Are you ready to be _claimed_?"

"Um- Er- Um, I think we might have had a bit of a misundersta- ah!" Cassandra lightly bit her neck by her pulse point and Anna arched up off the bed, shocked. "My lady, please stop!" she cried. Cassandra sat up and Anna looked up at her, wide-eyed and fearful- both that she would leave, and that she would continue. Then her face split into a wide grin and Anna realised she had just lost the game to a far better player. She covered her face with her hands. Cassandra laughed loudly, but didn't move from her position on top of her.

"Sorry sweetheart, but I couldn't resist. You're just too cute,"

Anna groaned some obscenity into her hands and Cassandra laughed again. "I am sorry. I shouldn't mess with someone who's had a day like you've had. How's your arm?"

"Fine, thank you," Anna replied stiffly, but didn't remove her hands from her face. "But could you please get off me, my lady?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Cassandra climbed off and sat cross-legged on one corner of the bed. Anna sat up massaged her forehead. She had never thought dealing with people again would be this difficult but quite frankly she felt that anyone would have trouble dealing with Princess Cassandra. "You know, I wasn't joking about the knights. If they're giving your trouble, just find me. I won't let them touch you, and neither will my brother,"

"Thank you, my lady," Anna said, taken aback by the genuine conviction in Cassandra's voice. Yawning, Anna got off the bed and began to arrange the blankets so she could perhaps get some sleep and escape this madness. She slid between the blankets, wincing at the hard floor after getting used to sleeping in a real bed, but closed her eyes anyway. "Goodnight, my lady," She said flatly, and fully expected conversation to cease.

Of course not.

"You're going to sleep there?" Anna cracked one eye open irritably.

"It would appear so, my lady,"

"That's my bed," Cassandra informed her. Anna sat up, thinking she should know better than to be surprised by this woman after today.

"You're a princess. You sleep on the bed," Anna didn't even bother to add a 'my lady' to that.

"It's your bed,"

"It's the bed I happen to sleep on. Today the floor is where I happen to sleep, my lady. And I am very tired," Anna was beginning to get irritated. She liked her sleep a lot and this woman was keeping it from her.

"Fine, I won't argue with you," Anna sighed in relief and lay back down before she was scooped up by Cassandra and dropped unceremoniously onto the bed. She opened her mouth angrily to protest, but Cassandra held up a hand.

"I don't want to hear anything come out of your mouth unless it's the rather clichéd but still very welcome suggestion that we both sleep in the bed tonight. Got it?" Anna nodded, and certainly didn't take Cassandra up on her offer.

The next morning, neither Anna nor Cassandra were awake when Rosalina strode in and tore open the curtains. "Oh good God, what did I do to deserve this?" Anna whined from under the covers. "Rosalina, have mercy, please?" Irritatingly, however, Cassandra woke up and was instantly her perky self.

"Oh, good morning, my future sister! I'm sure you slept well?" As Rosalina gushed about how she'd had a dream that Caspian and her were married with ten children, Anna wondered why Cassandra could act like a normal person around royalty.

"Is Anna always so difficult to wake up?" Cassandra asked Rosalina once she had finished her tale.

"Yes, I must be the only Princess alive who has to wake her own maidservant," She grumbled.

"If you got up at a reasonable hour this whole scenario would be different," Anna informed her from under a pillow, then punctuated her sentence with a yawn. Without warning the covers were wrenched off her bed, leaving her curled in a ball squinting up at her two tormentors. "With all due respect, Princess," Anna said to Rosalina, "I really hate you right now,"

Rosalina giggled and launched herself at Anna, mercilessly tickling her until Anna was wailing "Okay, okay, I don't hate you!" Finally Rosalina relented and Anna sat up, shaking her head. "You go upstairs and get washed, I'll be up in a minute, right?" Anna said, giving Rosalina's hand an affectionate squeeze, knowing that today Rosalina would be determined to look her best.

Once Rosalina had gone, Anna washed and dressed on her bed with the curtains closed while Cassandra went and stood on the balcony, staring out at the land that stretched out for miles from the second highest room of the tallest tower. Anna watched her for a moment, then left quickly to do Rosalina's hair. Arriving at the room, however, she saw a mess on an apocalyptic scale. Dresses were strewn over every surface, with Rosalina in the middle of them looked extremely frazzled. "I don't know what to wear!" she cried. "I don't look good in anything!" Anna pinched the bridge of her nose and got the feeling she was in for another long day.

After sending Rosalina down for breakfast with prince Caspian, Anna spent a long time getting every dress back on a hanger and back in the wardrobe. _Honestly_, she thought, _how ridiculous_. She was sure she'd missed breakfast as she descended the seemingly endless staircase and felt her stomach grumble. But first on her list was to check up on Ava, and be sure she wasn't being poked and prodded at by inquisitive knights. However, upon entering the ruined ballroom, she saw Prince Caspian stood a few feet in front of Ava, and bowing stiffly and looking rather terrified while Rosalina smiled and cuddled Ava's uninjured leg. She leant against the wall and snickered as Ava lowered her head to say hello and Caspian jumped out of his skin. Shaking her head, she turned and headed toward the kitchens to see if she could scavenge some leftovers from breakfast. There were a few knights chatting in the corridor she needed to go down and Anna felt nervousness well up inside her again. Telling herself stiffly that she was being silly and that she was going to have to speak to them at some point or other, she set her teeth and began walking down the dim hallway. "Good morning, Miss Serving-Girl," one of them said, nodding at her.

"Good morning, sir," Anna replied, giving a quick curtsey before continuing. The knight followed.

"A few of my fellow knights and I were thinking of having a little card game up in my chambers tonight, and we were wondering if you would care to join us? I mean, seeing as you've been alone here with only her majesty's company for so long," The request was innocent enough but Anna was not foolish enough to put herself in such a vulnerable position.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline your offer, sir," Anna continued walking quickly, hoping that the man would get the idea. But unfortunately he was insistent.

"Come on. You'll have fun, I promise,"

"Really, I have to decline, sir. Please excuse me,"

"Just one game of cards. We wouldn't stay up late,"

"Still, I must decline," Anna rounded a corner quickly and bumped straight into Cassandra. The knight looked slightly alarmed but stayed around, clearly hoping that she would leave.

"Oh, hello sweetheart. I was just looking for you- you missed breakfast so I saved you some," Cassandra held up a plate which was thankfully uninjured from their collision and Anna was torn between relief and gratitude.

"You are very kind, my lady," Anna said, taking the plate from her, mouth watering. Cassandra glanced at the knight who was still hovering in the hallway.

"Problem, Sir Gawain?"

"No, your highness, not at all," Anna cleared her throat.

"Sir …Gawain has been kind enough to invite me to a card game this evening,"

"A card game?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Anna replied, "In his chambers,"

"A _card game_ in his chambers," Cassandra repeated, staring directly at Sir Gawain who was looking very frightened indeed.

"With his friends," Anna finished, slightly smugly, and Sir Gawain spluttered an excuse and fled the corridor. Anna smiled up at Cassandra. "Thank you, my lady,"

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**Get on with it, Caspian!**

**Please review x**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi again! A little delay in updating this time, sorry about that. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter, and as always, read and review.**

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The next few days passed almost without incident. Rosalina and Caspian strolled around the castle, talking and flirting, the knights mostly kept to themselves, clearly a little bored, and Cassandra mostly followed Anna around the castle. She was particularly impressed when Anna mentioned that she and Ava would sometimes go flying. "Can you show me?" She asked eagerly, grasping Anna's hands. Anna found herself nodding as Ava readily agreed, glad of a chance to show off. Once Anna had returned to the ballroom in her male attire, a reasonable crowd of knights had gathered, including Sir Gawain, who Anna noticed had a rather pronounced limp suddenly.

"Alright, Ava?" She murmured to the dragon as she climbed up her neck and grasped her spines. "Cause I've suddenly gone all nervous," Ava tossed her head. "No, I think it would be more to do with the knights than the Princess," She said irritably. "Let's just get on with it?"

Ava beat her large wings, sending large clouds of dust billowing across the ballroom floor, then suddenly Ava and Anna were swooping over and around the ruined ballroom, Ava becoming more adventurous with the whoops and cheers of the knights and performing barrel rolls that made Anna feel almost as though she would fall. Once the ride was finished, Anna sat for a minute or two on Ava's back, regaining the breath that had been swept out of her body while the knights and Cassandra clapped appreciatively. Once she had slid off, Cassandra hurried forward and clasped her in a tight hug. "You are the bravest little thing I've ever seen!" She announced as she twirled her around. Anna felt the colour run into her cheeks and pride well up inside her as she was praised from every direction. The sensation was wholly new and very welcome.

A few nights later, Anna tried her best to argue that they should at least take turns sleeping on the floor, and was almost instantly shot down. "You're not sleeping on the floor. End of story," Cassandra said flatly, her arms folded, and Anna rolled her eyes.

"You're being ridiculous, _my lady_," she said. "I'm the servant. It's in my job description to sleep on the floor,"

"Well I'm the princess and I give the orders, so you sleep on the bed. Alone or with me I don't care which-," Anna rolled her eyes. "-but you are not sleeping on this floor. I mean it,"

"Why?" Anna cried, "There's no point to this!"

"There's every point to this! I want you to be comfortable!"

"What for? It won't kill me to sleep on the floor!"

"Why are you so eager to give up your own bed? Don't you want to be comfortable?"

"Well yes, but that-,"

"Then why is it more important for me to be comfortable?"

"Because I'm worth less than you!" Anna shouted exasperatedly. Cassandra froze with an expression on her face Anna couldn't place. "What?" She asked apprehensively. Cassandra gripped the back of her neck and looked into her eyes.

"You really believe that?" she asked seriously.

"Well… yes,"

"Why?" Anna struggled to answer for a moment.

"Well, because you are going to run a country one day-,"

"Not me, my brother,"

"Well-," Anna frowned, "Then because you are a member of the royal family, and you are going to be there in case something happens to your brother,"

"There are plenty of other people who could do that job," Cassandra cut in.

"Then because you will grow and marry a rich, handsome man you love and live a good life,"

"And you won't?" Anna paused. Truly, would she? An ex-victim of a curse, a serving girl with her whole life bound to the princess, a girl with no real talents apart from being friends with a dragon and precious little beauty? She cast her eyes down.

"It's unlikely," Cassandra let go of her, standing up abruptly.

"I see," she said in cool tones. "Goodnight then,"

"Goodnight, my lady," Anna said softly, wondering exactly what it was she had done to upset the princess.

"It's terrible, Anna!" Rosalina burst into Anna's room the next evening, just as Anna and Cassandra were getting ready for bed.

"What is, Rosa?" Anna asked, alarmed.

"I don't think he loves me!" Rosalina declared, before bursting into tears. Anna rushed over to comfort her and led her to the bed where she sat down, crying into Anna's shoulder. Cassandra remained a respectable distance away but was watching with interest.

"Rosa, tell me what on earth you're talking about?"

"He won't kiss me, he won't break the curse!" Anna's heart shot down into her toes.

"W-what? Did he say he wouldn't?" Cassandra leaned forward, looking concerned.

"That can't be right," she said. "He'd never do that, even if he wasn't in love with you,"

"He won't do it," Rosalina cried. "I don't think he loves me,"

"Calm down and explain, please," Anna begged her. Rosalina took a few calming breaths before telling her story.

"We talk all the time and I feel like we really connect and I had such high hopes that he would finally break the curse but he won't touch me. When we walk around the castle he won't hold my hand; when we sit in the hall of mirrors together he'll move away before I can put my head on his shoulder. He must think I'm repulsive!"

Cassandra burst out laughing.

"Well bloody hell, he's actually done it," She said to herself in awe.

"Done what?" Anna demanded as Rosalina clutched at her.

"Look, let me explain something Princess- Caspian was always a bit of a ladies man. He knew all the right lines, knew exactly what the wanted to be told and when… basically, he got a lot of women into bed," Rosalina gaped in horror at Cassandra while Anna openly glared. "But listen, this is the important part. When his friends asked him how he did it, he always said it was because he had no feelings for them that he could say those sorts of things with a cool head. Now that he's met you, he's finally fallen in love and suddenly he doesn't know what to do anymore. You should be grateful he still has the presence of mind to talk to you coherently," Rosalina looked up with big hopeful eyes.

"Really?"

"Truly," Cassandra confirmed with a warm smile that made Anna's insides melt.

"And besides," Anna told her, feeling deep relief that the dull throbbing in her arm would not kill her yet, "how could he not love someone as stunning as you?"

Rosalina gave a little laugh and threw her arms round Anna's middle. Anna smiled back and patted her on the head, but when she looked up to thank Cassandra, her smile disappeared at the look on her face. She looked truly sad, and panic that the story had been a lie froze Anna's insides. "Well!" she said, trying to sound cheerful, "we should probably get to bed, yeah?" Rosalina sat up and nodded, smiling through her tear-stained face. Anna gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before ushering her out of the room. Once the door had closed she leant against it with a sigh. "That story," She said, addressing Cassandra, "That story had better not have been a lie,"

Cassandra looked truly surprised and shook her head.

"It was the truth; I really believe he's in love with her,"

"Then why did you look so sad just now?" Anna demanded, her suspicious mind craving to dispel any doubt over her imminent recovery.

Cassandra smiled a smile so poignant and sad it brought tears to Anna's eyes and a strange tugging pain in her chest. "Just thinking of how much he's changed, that's all," she said, settling into bed. "Good night,"

As Anna lay in the dark, trying to sleep, she felt terrifying doubt knowing at her stomach.

It was dark, and there was an immense pain in Anna's left arm, shoulder and the left side of her neck and chest. The pain was so crushing, Anna could barely breathe. "Cassa- Cass- Cassandra!" She gasped out. "Please- ah! Help!" She couldn't turn her head to see if Cassandra was awake or not so she continued to gasp out her name. "Cass- Cassandra… Cassandra! Ah!" Waves of crippling pain crashed over the left side of her body, burning deep inside her muscles. Tears streamed down her face and Anna was certain she was dying. Suddenly, miraculously, Cassandra's worried face appeared above her own. "Please- help!" She gasped, then locked her jaw together as the pain flared up again. Cassandra knelt by her left arm.

"Should I touch it?" she asked, fearfully.

"Try anything!" Anna almost shouted desperately. Cautiously Cassandra began to massage Anna's forearm, loosening and warming the muscles.

"Is it working?" she asked quietly as tears slid down Anna's cheeks.

"Yes," She said, taking deep breaths to try and relax. Slowly and carefully, Cassandra massaged all of Anna's arm until the pain subsided to an aching in her bones that made her so tired. As he eyes drifted shut she saw Cassandra move to return to her bed. "Stay," She managed to say before she fell into blackness.

The next morning the pain in Anna's arm had almost gone but she failed to notice this on waking to find herself tangled up in Princess Cassandra's arms. "Well, good morning, sweetie," she had said, stretching casually. "What a night! Was it as good for you as it was for me?" It had taken Anna a few long moments of flustered panic to realise that Cassandra was joking, and to remember what had actually happened.

"Oh no," Anna murmured, absently massaging her arm. "It was in my chest. Do you think I'll go straight to my heart or spread everywhere else first?" Anna turned to Cassandra with true fear in her eyes, and Cassandra looked helplessly back. "God," Anna said shakily, "Your brother had better hurry up. I don't want to die yet,"

Getting up out of the bed, Anna still felt shaky and slightly sick, and then a sudden guilty thought overtook her. "Oh god! Rosalina!" She cried, and threw open her bedroom door, sprinted the up the stairs and burst into Rosalina's bedroom, Cassandra hot on her heels. Rosalina sat up sleepily. "Well, this is a turn up for the books," She grinned. "My maidservant waking me up. I have to say, it's very novel,"

"Rosa, are you okay? I'm sorry about last night I didn't even think of you, it just hurt so much and I'm truly sorry, I am-,"

"Last night?" Rosalina cut in curiously. "What about last night?"

"You didn't…" Anna asked taking a step back. "I don't understand. Last night my arm- I woke up and the curse was spreading. I thought I was going to die," Rosalina still looked confused.

"No… my arm feels fine. Well, I mean, it hurts but no more than usual. Did you dream it?"

"No," Cassandra told her flatly. "I was there, I saw it. She was in agony,"

"Oh Anna," Rosalina looked at her with eyes full of pity, and enveloped her in a hug. "You poor thing,"

"I don't understand," Anna mumbled. "It always hurts the same together, it's never happened like this before,"

"Maybe," Cassandra cut in, addressing Anna. "Maybe you're here for more than just looking after her. Maybe you were sent to… extend Rosalina's time? Maybe you're taking more on more of the curse's weight as it advances so that Rosalina doesn't have to?" Anna felt a strange, guilty combination of anger and fear flow through her as Rosalina squeezed her tighter.

"It would make sense, I suppose," She choked out, trying her hardest not to resent Rosa. _She never asked for it to be like this_, she reminded herself. _She wouldn't want you to be in pain._

Rosalina burst out crying and clutched Anna very tightly, and Cassandra walked over to the bed and placed a warm hand on Anna's shoulder.

"Well," Anna said sitting up, determined to be strong, "There's no sense in crying about it, we might as well get dressed, now that we're up,"

"Yes," Rosalina said with strange forcefulness. "Yes, I need to get dressed. Quickly. Get me my red and gold dress, Anna," Confused, but more than willing to take her mind off things, Anna brought out Cassandra's best dress and laid it on the bed carefully.

"You two can go get ready," Rosalina told them. "I'll dress by myself today,"

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**I didn't really know where to end this one, so I settled for a bit of a cliffie. Three guesses what Rosalina's going to make Caspian do in the next chapter...**

**x**


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